“Today it’s known for racism, antisemitism and urban decay.”
Hey! Don’t forget “diversity”! They’ve got lots of diversity! And multiculturalism! Hopefully they still have some fish ‘n chips.
We're on a runaway train
Rolling down the track
And where it's taking us to
Who knows where it's at
But if we hold together
We can make it back
For an English sunset
We want an English sunset.
I feel the rhythm of the earth
In my soul tonight
May it never fade away
And I've decided I can live
With humility
And the sad decay
'Cos that's the English way.
We keep the faith alive
In everything we do
And at the end of the road
We still keep coming through
And though it's sad and sorry
What else can we do
It's an English sunset
An English sunset.
I feel the rhythm of the earth
In my soul tonight
May it never fade away
And I've decided they can wait
For the requiem
We take it day by day
'Cos that's the English way
I saw the English sunset.
---"English Sunset," written by Justin Hayward for the Moody Blues, 1999
Not as majestic as Rudyard Kipling's poem, "Recessional," but more attuned to modern tastes.